Five players signed past their prime in the second Hornets era
Michael Carter-Williams 2017
The Charlotte Hornets were willing to take a risk by signing 2013-14 NBA Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams, but it did not pay off. While considering a 26-year-old to be past his prime may seem a bit aggressive, Carter-Williams was on a steep decline performance-wise by the time he landed in Charlotte.
There appeared to still be some promise for Carter-Williams, while he was in Philadelphia and Milwaukee but it was his season in Chicago where concerns about his viability as a player came into question. Carter-Williams would fail to average more than 10 points per game after the 2015-16 season, with his first year in Charlotte being the beginning of that trend.
The former 11th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft had one of the worst years of his entire career in Charlotte. Carter-Williams averaged just 4.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 16.1 minutes per game. Carter-Williams’ only season in Charlotte would end due to injury, something that has become a recurring theme in the now 31-year-old’s career.
Carter-Williams has appeared in just 108 games since his brief time with the Hornets, averaging 6.9 points in 19 minutes per game for the Houston Rockets and Orlando Magic.